Saudi - 'Polish ties to reach new heights'

(MENAFN - Arab News) The Kingdom and Poland pledged in Riyadh Sunday to take bilateral trade to new heights in the coming years.
Polish President Bronislaw Komorroski said here that the two countries have immense potential to forge ahead in bilateral trade.
Komorroski was speaking at a meeting held in Riyadh at the Council of Saudi Chambers in the presence of Commerce and Industry Minister Tawfik Al-Rabiah, CSC President Adbullah Al-Mobty and Polish and local businessmen.
The president said that despite the current world recession, Poland has been able to maintain its economic growth levels and stability, which made it the only European country that did not show a drop in its GDP. These positive results are due to the increase in export levels, which reached 143.4 billion euros last year, marking a 4.9-percent growth compared to 2011.
He pointed out that Poland achieved a 180-percent growth rate between 1989 and 2007.
He recalled that relations between the Kingdom and Poland were built on strong mutual respect and understanding. He pointed out that the late King Faisal visited Warsaw in 1932 and Custodian of the Two Holy Mosque King Abdullah subsequently paid a visit in 2007.
"We have witnessed significant economic growth, which resulted in Poland becoming a member of the World Trade Organization, European Union and other global bodies," the president said, stressing that the interest of foreign investors are well protected in the country.
Bilateral trade reached $600 million last year, he said. He called on Saudi businessmen to invest in promising sectors such as the petrochemical industry, infrastructure development, tourism, railways, mines, agriculture and construction of roads. He invited Saudi businessmen to the $285 billion stock market, which has a membership of over 450 joint stock companies.
Al-Mobty said the visit of King Abdullah to Poland was a landmark event, where he signed a number of economic agreements in the field of investment protection, trade cooperation and for technical and vocational training programs.
Al-Mobty called on Polish businessmen to make direct investments in the Kingdom and urged businessmen in both countries to redouble their efforts and work together to achieve new partnerships in nontraditional sectors.
Khalid Al-Otaibi, the council's secretary-general, outlined the incentives offered by the Kingdom to foreign investors. "We have a high economic growth and own a quarter of world's oil reserves," he said, adding that the Saudi economy is the largest in the Middle East and among the top 20 in the global economy.